YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'By Sean C. Castrina, author of “ 8 Unbreakable Rules For Business Start-Up Success “ If you’re bootstrapping your own business, you know all about doing more with less. The ability to stretch a budget is a survival skill, especially in those cash-strapped early days. And because you know you’re never much more than a bad quarter or an unexpected expense away from closing your doors, you’re always looking for new ways to save money.

Bootstrapping 209

Bootstrapping Employee Small Business Salary 209

The Next Web

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'Ryan Hoover is the co-creator of Product Hunt , creator of Startup Edition , and instructor at Tradecraft. Follow him at @rrhoover or visit his blog to read more about startups and product design. Can we all agree resumes are crummy? Can you really communicate your life’s accomplishments and skill-set through an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper? Does anyone even read your resume anyway?

Stealth 167

Stealth Cofounder Social Media Viral 167

Up and Running

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'Here at Palo Alto Software, we spend all day every day building software and writing advice for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Some of us on staff are entrepreneurs ourselves. And that means we have a lot of favorite small business tools and resources to share. This is our list of favorite things from 2013. Some are truly “from 2013″ and were introduced this year, and some have been around for awhile but saw pretty significant updates in 2013.

Small Business 109

Small Business Development Team Review RSS Software Review 109

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'Getting things done effectively in a startup requires total individual and team accountability. You can’t afford excuses and multiple people doing the same job. In my view, “taking responsibility” is the core element behind accountability. Many people hear responsibility as an obligation, but I hear it as “the ability to respond.” Unfortunately many people don’t have the ability to respond, because they lack confidence in themselves, or simply don’t have the skills required.

Entrepreneur 261

Entrepreneur Differentiation Founder Naming 261

Speaker: Nick Noreña, Innovation Coach and Advisor, Kromatic

Every startup and innovation project exists within an ecosystem that either helps or hurts that project. As innovation managers, we need to keep a pulse of that ecosystem and make sure we're helping those innovation projects we're managing every step of the way. In this webinar, Nick Noreña will walk through an Innovation Ecosystem Model that he and his team at Kromatic have developed to help investors, heads of product, teachers, and executives understand how they can best support innovation in

Startup

Agile VC

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'I was recently talking with another member of LinkedIn’s founding team. It’s been awhile since we worked together on a daily basis so a lot was just general catch up, but one of the primary reasons for our chat was that this person was starting to become a more active angel investor and was just looking for feedback. I’ve had similar conversations in the last year or so with other folks looking to begin, or ramp up, their activity as angel investors.

Angel Investor 265

Angel Investor Early Stage Syndicate Syndication 265

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'This post is part of our series on the National Science Foundation I-Corps Lean LaunchPad class in Life Science and Health Care at UCSF. Part 1: issues in the therapeutics drug discovery pipeline. Part 2: medical devices and digital health. Part 3: described what we’re going to do about it. Part 4: This Will Save us Years – Customer Discovery in Medical Devices.

Lean 251

Lean Customer Development Video Distribution 251

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'Maybe everyone knows this, but it took me a while to realize that almost all of my performance issues with Google Apps were related to my DNS configuration. Once I switched all my machines and routers to Google Public DNS all of my performance problems went away. It’s remarkable. Simply hard code DNS to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. Problem solved. My office, condo, and house in Keystone are all on Comcast.

Web 138

Web Technology 138

The Next Web

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'This post originally appeared on the Flippa blog. I overheard this interesting conversation at the Flippa HQ the other day. “I’ve already parked my kid’s domain name. It’s all set.”. “Great. You can give it to him when he’s 21. It’ll be worth more than a car!”. OK, maybe not, but you have to forgive us. We can’t help but to obsess over websites , domains , and apps here at Flippa.

Sweden 139

Sweden Affiliate Australia Portfolio 139

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'I woke up this morning to another wave of holiday email cards. I had over 50 of them this morning. Yesterday I probably had at least 50 – by the end of the day it was likely over 100. STOP! UNSUBSCRIBE. I’ve never really understood the physical holiday card thing. I think it’s a secret ploy by the US Government to keep the USPS in business.

Email 127

Email Government Video 127

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'The other day, I looked at some real estate space on behalf of one of my portfolio companies. The owner sent me this. Maybe I just don''t have enough imagination or lack of the requisite architecture degree. At least it''s better than showing an actual picture of what the office looks like now, after the last tenant trashed the place on their way out.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Architecture Portfolio Revenue 100

SiliconHills

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'By SUSAN LAHEY Reporter with Silicon Hills News Capital Factory had a bang-up 2013: A visit from the president, the arrival of Techstars, adding another 250,000 square feet on the fifth floor of the Omni Building, incorporating live streaming of the myriad events that take place all week on the 16th floor. Now the incubator […] The post Austin Startup Incubator Capital Factory to Expand in 2014 appeared first on SiliconHills.

Incubator 97

Incubator Austin Startup 97

The Equity Kicker

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'Business Insider posted these two charts today under the headline Paid Apps are Dead. Looking at the data, it’s hard to refute that claim. App developers are still making money, of course, it’s just that they are doing it through in-app purchases rather than from an up-front charge. This solution is better for consumers because they get to try before they buy, and better for app developers who can increase their overall revenue by enabling their superfans to spend vastly more money

Revenue 84

Revenue Business Model Cost Developer 84

Growthink Blog

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'Both Crowdfunding and Peer-to-Peer Lending are great new ways to raise money for your business. Below I explain the differences, and some of the advantages and disadvantages of each. I end by determining which is better. Peer-to-Peer Lending read more.

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89

SiliconHills

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'By GREGORY WISE Special Contributor to Silicon Hills News Noesis Energy founder and CEO Scott Harmon didn’t set-out to be a serial entrepreneur, but having now started and grown no fewer than four Austin tech companies the title seems to fit. As part of the leadership team at Tivoli Systems, the poster-child for Austin tech-business […] The post Innovator’s Insights: Spotlight on Scott Harmon, CEO of Noesis Energy appeared first on SiliconHills.

Austin 78

Austin Leadership Technology Founder 78

Up and Running

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'As more and more people use crowdfunding sites and other alternative funding sources for their businesses , it is important to talk about exactly what crowdfunding is and how the laws surrounding it are changing (and not changing). Video Transcript. Hi, I’m Sabrina Parsons and this is your Tip of the Week. A lot of times people want to ask me about crowd funding.

Accredited Investor 70

Accredited Investor United States Equity Finance 70

Mike Michalowicz

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'Your best business adviser is your customer. . You customer makes it very clear what they like – they buy it from you. . You customer makes it very clear what they love – they buy it from you repeatedly. Your customer makes it very clear what they don’t like – they don’t buy it from you. . Your customer makes it very clear what they hate – you never hear from them again.

Sales 68

Sales Customer 68

SiliconHills

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'AllThingsD, quoting unnamed sources, is reporting that Austin-based Calxeda, with 125 employees, has ceased operations. The company, which is part of the Austin Technology Incubator, has raised more than $100 million since its inception in 2008. In October of 2012, the company closed a Series C round of funding of $55 million from Austin Ventures, […] The post Austin-based Calxeda Shuts Down appeared first on SiliconHills.

Austin 67

Austin Incubator Operations Employee 67

Business Plan Blog

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'How to Pitch to Angel Investors. You have finally set up that meeting with an angel investor and have everything prepared for your pitch. What do you do to make sure you hit your pitch out of the park and get a second meeting, and better yet, a check? Be sure to address these four items that investors will always be asking: 1) Is the business idea simple enough for me to understand and buy into. 2) Does it solve a problem or meet a need. 3) Is there a big enough market and customer base for the

Angel Investor 55

Angel Investor Exit Strategy Valuation Differentiation 55

SiliconHills

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'MapMyFitness announced Thursday a redesign of its mobile app with new features optimized for Apple’s latest operating system, iOS7. The Austin-based company reports that the new app has a “clean, intuitive interface for more engaging workout experience.” “2013 has been a busy and productive year so far for the MapMyFitness community – starting the year […] The post MapMyFitness Releases Redesigned App appeared first on SiliconHills.

Austin 59

Austin Mobile Community Operations 59

The Entrepreneurial Mind

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'Tweet Facebook LinkedIn Tumblr Stumble Digg Delicious The post Sharing HOPE appeared first on Dr Jeff Cornwall.

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Early Growth Financial Services

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'It’s that time of year again: time to start working on those startup tax estimates—otherwise known as that time of year when you need to start getting your act together! If you engaged in mid-year tax planning, great! You’re ahead of the game. But, if you didn’t, you’ll want to start those estimates now so you can avoid any unwelcome surprises come tax time.

Startup 44

Startup 44

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'by Morgan Sims. Of the many crucial issues that are unique to startup companies, month-to-month cashflow is most commonly at the top of the list. Beyond the month-to-month concerns are typical budgetary concerns that plague every company. Here are a few ways for startups to reduce operating costs so they can function more efficiently, and make every dollar count: 1.

Operations 191

Operations Cost Startup Florida 191

Hunter Walker

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'When do you officially get christened a “VC?” Is it when you successfully raise your first dollar or finish the fundraising? Is it when you write your first check or see your first exit? With Homebrew , Satya and I both consider ourselves a startup in its “product-market fit” phase. Since raising our fund earlier this year, we’ve invested in a number of strong teams but this isn’t an easy business and we’re committed to bringing an operators mentality

Cofounder 105

Cofounder Term Sheet Seed Stage Portfolio 105

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 19, 2013

' By: Arthur Lipper. In the process of raising funds to create and develop a business, entrepreneurs make many statements to those they seek to attract as investors. In my years of investing, I’ve developed a set of tough questions that are sure to elicit both information and a vibrant dialog – questions not on the usual checklists of angel groups or investors.

Pre-Money Valuation 105

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidity Event Cofounder Valuation 105

Gregg Fraley, Author of Jack's Notebook

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'I do keynotes on creativity and innovation topics — and this is not something I hide. It’s all over my website and I do my best to promote my speaking on FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and in my blog postings. So, it’s not unusual for me to be confronted — at a cocktail party or a business meeting — with the comment: So you’re a “Motivational Speaker.” It’s a fair observation, but it’s really… inexact when it comes to describing wh

Audience 100

Audience Management Product 100

Duct Tape Marketing

DECEMBER 19, 2013

'The Secret to Happiness for Marketers written by Guest Post read more at Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing Thursday is guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest is Scott Yates – Enjoy! photo credit: elycefeliz via photopin cc. For the worker standing by the side of a construction site holding a stop sign, marketing must seem like a pretty sweet gig.

Marketing 69

Marketing Vesting Small Business Social Media 69